OH NOES!!! NOT BOXING!

Right so I found a prospective boxing gym. http://www.millenniumcentre.co.uk/
Not a clue how good it is but they offer a free session so I can find out. However im 16 and therefore dependant on parents for a lift and fees. I know many of you are parents so please help me out here. How do you convince parents who see the pro boxers with faces like battered potatoes that boxing is not going to give me brain damage and destroy what beauty I possess?

Uhh, just tell them that the dangers of boxing are exaggerated (which isn't entirely false). Or something. Once they get over the hump of allowing their kid to fight other kids, they'll probably be supportive, unless you don't get any better, but that's your problem :P. It's taken me a while to convince my parents that UFC isn't just wanton violence, and that it's actually wanton violence with finesse.

just tell them that its either a gym or you are going to start with the street bums. dont forget to mention that street bums have HIV and like to bite. this is what I did and my parents bought me a car to get to training!

Truthfully, you would probably get stuck with a lot of pad work and defensive drills anyway untill you can prove you're ready for full sparing. I started boxing 5 months ago and the only damage I've seen is when the local kickboxing club comes in to season thier fighters for tournaments. Mostly bloody noses, mostly the kick boxers.
I've taken more damage doing Kyokushin.